Bon Voyage

A comedy set in Occupied France: that's not by any means a stretch of the imagination, but Jean-Paul Rappeneau's Bon Voyage never really takes advantage of the contradictions, ironies and absurdities that the setting might allow.

The film begins with World War II in full swing and German troops invading France. But for Viviane (Isabelle Adjani), a well-connected Parisian actress accustomed to getting her own way, there are more pressing anxieties: she involves one of her many suitors, an aspiring writer called Frederic (Gregori Derangere), in helping to cover up a rather inconvenient murder she's committed.

The action moves to Bordeaux, where those in flight from advancing Germans include Viviane; members of the occupation government (among them Viviane's protector, played by Gerard Depardieu); Frederic, on the run from the law; a resourceful hustler (Yvan Attal); a scientist trying to smuggle nuclear secrets to the Allies (Jean-Marc Stehle); his beautiful assistant (Virginie Ledoyen); and a reporter (Peter Coyote).

The hard-working, talented cast have their moments, Depardieu and Adjani in particular - Depardieu portrays an infatuated man out of his depth, while Adjani makes her character a fragile-looking, steely narcissist, a compulsive, instinctive performer. They can add little, however, to an unashamed farce, a jaunty combination of comedy, romance, dashing good guys, amiable fairly good guys and beastly villains, but which never rises beyond the blandly comic. Its glossy look and treacly Gabriel Yared score only increase the feeling of irrelevance. Although it apparently aims to be witty and sardonic, a contemporary Casablanca, Bon Voyage ends up a heavy-handed attempt at a light touch: it's an art house 'Allo, 'Allo rather than a 21st-century To Be Or Not To Be.